Report: Biden White House canceled plans to tour ship in 2023 due to ‘how many steps were involved’
- August 13, 2025
Blake Wolf, OAN
Newly unearthed records have revealed that the Biden administration scrapped a planned 2023 visit to a Philadelphia shipyard after officials became aware that the itinerary would require President Joe Biden to navigate a substantial number of steps to board a vessel.
This seemingly indicates that administration officials under Biden were acutely aware of the now-82-year-old Democrat’s physical limitations, recognizing that he lacked the stamina required to walk up, or down, the ship’s steps.
The records were obtained by watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust through a Freedom of Information Act request. It recounted the Biden administration’s previous process of cancelling a scheduled visit to the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel in July 2023.
The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration previously awarded the Philadelphia shipyard a contract to build the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) years prior, which then-President Biden was slated to inspect during the visit. However, days before the trip, Department of Transportation staffers gathered information pertaining to the specifics of what the president would be doing, which is when they ultimately decided against Biden attending.
“No visit to the SNMV vessel is planned after the WH realized how many steps were involved to get on the ship,” a Maritime Administration official told staffers of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.
“Lots of steps on grating,” the message noted.